Ashesi University Foundation - USA
Ashesi University Foundation, based in Seattle, WA, connects a global community of friends and donors to Ashesi University in Ghana.
Ashesi Foundation's Board of Trustees is comprised of leaders from business, tech, international development, finance, law, and academia.
 | Aprile Age Director, John P. & Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation MArch, Columbia University |
 | Charles Agyeman Senior Product Cost Manager, GE B.Sc., Ashesi University |
 | Abe Ankumah Vice President & General Manager, VMware; CEO & Co-Founder, Nyansa, Inc. (Acquired by VMware) MBA, Harvard Business School; BS, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) |
 | Yaw Asare-Aboagye Head of Regional Clinical Operations Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative MS, Louisiana State University |
 | Patrick Awuah Founder & President, Ashesi University MBA, UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business |
 | Kofi Bonner Chief Executive Officer of Bedrock Management Services LLC MSC. Pl., M.Arch., UC Berkeley |
 | Reggie Brown Financial Advisor and retired Microsoft Executive MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business BS, Accounting, University of San Francisco |
 | Peggy Clark Chief Executive Officer of the International Center for Research on Women MA, The Johns Hopkins University |
 | Neil Collins Co-founder and Managing Partner, Erigo Capital Partners LLC BA, Claremont McKenna College |
 | Emer Dooley Entrepreneurship Faculty, University of Washington PhD, University of Washington MBA, University of Washington |
 | Isaac Fokuo Founder and Principal, Botho Emerging Markets Group MA, University of Chicago MBA, Kellsdtadt School of Business |
 | Conrad Gehrmann Chief Financial Officer of Laird Norton Wealth Management MBA, University of Michigan BA, St. Olaf College |
 | Scott Kucirek Co-founder and CEO, OCHO Candy MBA, UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business |
 | Nina Marini Director, Microsoft Corporation UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business BA, Haverford College |
 | Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa Executive Director, Delta Philanthropies BS, Caas Business School MA, Hult International Business School |
 | Lisa Norton Attorney, Law Office of Lisa Norton PLLC JD, Harvard Law School MPA, University of Washington |
 | Lewis Roberts Co-Founder, Africa HepatoPancreatoBiliary Cancer Consortium MB ChB, University of Ghana Medical School Ph.D., University of Iowa |
 | Daniel F. Runde Senior Vice President; William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity and Development, Center for Strategic and International Studies MPP, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government |
 | Ruth Warren Product Manager (retired) Microsoft Corporation BA, Barnard College of Columbia University AA Graphic Design, Art Institute of Seattle |
 | Todd Warren Adjunct Professor of Software Entrepreneurship, Northwestern University Corporate Vice President (retired) Microsoft Corporation BA, Northwestern University |
 | Patrick Awuah Founder and President Before founding Ashesi, Patrick worked as a Program Manager for Microsoft Corporation. He holds bachelor degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College, and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. In 2004, Swarthmore awarded Patrick an honorary doctorate in recognition of his leadership in African higher education. Patrick Awuah was nominated a Global Leader 2007 by the World Economic Forum; and in recognition of his service to Ghana, was awarded Membership of the Order of the Volta by His Excellency, President J. A. Kufuor. He is a fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative (a branch of The Aspen Global Leadership Network), a member of the United States Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the Tau Beta Pi honor society for excellence in engineering. Click here to read a full bio. |
 | Joanna Bargeron Vice President, Ashesi University Foundation When she joined Ashesi in 2008, Joanna brought 14 years of non-profit fundraising and administration experience as Development Director and Trustee of Seattle Midwifery School and Assistant Regional Director of Women in Community Service. She earned a BA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College and an MPA from UW’s Evans School of Public Affairs. Joanna first traveled to Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching math in The Gambia. Connect on LinkedIn |
 | Megan E.M. Hastings Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ashesi University Foundation Megan began her career in local government administration and has since focused her efforts on mobilizing resources to ensure access to education, credit and global markets in the Global South. Prior to joining Ashesi University Foundation she served as the CEO of Sasa Designs before negotiating the asset sale and brand transfer to Greater Good Wholesale. Megan’s entrepreneurial studies via Stanford Business School’s IGNITE program, as well as her MA in International Development from the University of Nairobi guide a unique approach to economic development, entrepreneurship, partnerships and strategy. |
 | Ebenezer Buckman Chief of Staff to the President & Director of University Communications, Ashesi University Eben has served in various capacities at Ashesi University since 2011, and currently leads the communication, alumni engagement and fundraising teams at the University in his role as the Director of University Communications. He also serves as Chief of Staff to the President, helping implement strategic initiatives from the Office of the President; and Secretary to the Board, serving as a key liaison between Board members and the University. He holds a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems from Ashesi, and was a Middle East and Africa Talent scholarship recipient at IE Business School, where he earned his master's degree in Corporate Communications. |
 | Meredith Lee Executive Director, Ashesi University Foundation Canada Meredith Lee is Executive Director of Ashesi University Foundation Canada. She is a senior non-profit leader and strategist with over 20+ years specializing in program design, implementation, and evaluation. Prior to joining Ashesi University Foundation Canada, Meredith spent twelve years at the Mastercard Foundation designing and managing the Youth Livelihoods programmatic stream, developing a new Foundation-wide approach to programming, and concluding as Advisor to the Chief Program Officer. Meredith holds a bachelor’s degree in international development studies from University of Toronto, and a Master of Public Administration from Queens University, Kingston, Canada. |
 | Nachula Wilson Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ashesi University Nachula is passionate about the changing face of higher education on the continent. She began her career in finance and banking, working in Zambia and Singapore with Standard Chartered Bank. She later moved into the education sector where she has worked both on the teaching and advocacy and partnership ends. Nachula holds a first degree in accounting and an MBA from IESE Business School. |
 | Erika Amoako-Agyei Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ashesi University Foundation Erika has lived, worked and led business operations in eight African countries and the US. Most recently, she served as a business coach with Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business for entrepreneurs in East and West Africa, as part of the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (Seed). For nearly a decade, Erika worked globally for US tech giant IBM in a variety of global leadership roles in marketing, sales and operations, starting in the US, and then multiple years in West Africa as the IBM Ghana Country General Manager. Erika was previously the Director of Corporate Relations for the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona (now part of Arizona State University), where she managed a portfolio of corporate partnerships for the school. Erika has trained and advised Founders, CEOs and Fortune 500 executives for over 15 years. |
 | David Finklea Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ashesi University Foundation David began serving in advancement at in 2021. He has led the efforts to gain support through grants and strategic partnerships that improve the institution’s ability to serve students from over 29 countries. His work included partnering with federal and local government, local corporations, and private and public foundations to raise support for newly implemented academic programs, student scholarships, and community-based projects that provide educational resources and internet access to public citizens. David has two earned degrees from Liberty University: Bachelor of Science in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies. He is currently preparing to defend his dissertation in Columbia International University’s PhD in Organizational Leadership program. His research focuses on the experiences of African American college and university presidents leading non-HBCU higher education institutions. |
 | Kayla Apronti Senior Donor Communications Officer, Ashesi University Foundation Prior to joining Ashesi, Kayla worked as the Advancement Assistant at Lincoln Community School where she provided support in the areas of marketing, development and community relations. Kayla earned her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Ashesi University and MS in Mass Communication from Boston University. |
 | Constance Mensah Senior Communications Officer, Ashesi University Constance is a marketing & communication professional who is passionate about telling compelling brand stories. Prior to Ashesi, she worked in advertising developing various marketing campaigns while managing multiple project timelines and engaging various stakeholders. Constance holds a first degree in Communication Design from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. |
 | Gillian Asafu-Adjaye Alumni Relations Officer, Ashesi University Gillian previously worked for the London School of Economics (LSE) where she worked as the Program Officer for The Program for African Leadership (PfAL) at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, a networking and skills development initiative for LSE post graduate students from Africa and the African diaspora. Prior to that she was the communications officer at the University of Oxford for the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx). Her work included managing applications for the AfOx visiting fellowship program, a program designed to enhance academic mobility and network building and supports African scholars and researchers working in any discipline to spend periods of flexible time in Oxford. While studying for her undergraduate degree she founded Ekua Haizel. The company focuses on providing opportunities for African diaspora students and recent graduates to undertake 10 week-long internships in Ghana, combined with a cultural tour around Ghana. She is currently studying for an MA in Education Management at King's College London. |
Ashesi University Foundation - Canada
Ashesi University Foundation Canada (AUFC) is a Canadian charity established to strengthen higher education outcomes in Africa.
| Patrick Awuah Founder & President, Ashesi University |
| Emer Dooley Entrepreneurship Faculty, University of Washington |
 | Paul Fieguth Professor, Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo |
 | Mateko Azu Project Manager, Bounteous Inc. |
 | Meredith Lee Executive Director Meredith Lee is Executive Director of Ashesi University Foundation Canada. She is a senior non-profit leader and strategist with over 20+ years specializing in program design, implementation, and evaluation. Prior to joining Ashesi University Foundation Canada, Meredith spent twelve years at the Mastercard Foundation designing and managing the Youth Livelihoods programmatic stream, developing a new Foundation-wide approach to programming, and concluding as Advisor to the Chief Program Officer. Meredith holds a bachelor’s degree in international development studies from University of Toronto, and a Master of Public Administration from Queens University, Kingston, Canada. |
Ashesi University - Ghana
Ashesi is a private, non-profit liberal arts university located in Berekuso, Ghana. Our mission is to educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within our students the critical thinking skills, the concern for others and the courage it will take to transform their continent.
The University Board of Directors is comprised of Ghanaian leaders in academia and the corporate sector.
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- Harriette Amissah-Arthur
Executive Partner
Arthur Energy Advisors
MBA, University of Ghana - Yaw Asare-Aboagye
Head of Regional Clinical Operations
Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi)
DVM, University of Ibadan
MS, Louisiana State University School of Public Health - Patrick Awuah
Founder & President
Ashesi University
MBA, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley - Mona Boyd
CEO
Land Tours Ghana Ltd
BA, Boston University - Victoria Bright
Managing Partner and Co-Founder
Addison Bright Sloane
LLM, College of Europe, Bruges
Executive MBA, Said Business School, University of Oxford - Sangu Delle
Managing Director
Africa Health Holdings
MBA, Harvard Business School
JD, Harvard Law School - Pearl Esua-Mensah (Board Chair)
Director
Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation (GDPC)
MBA, University of Manchester - Yawa Hansen-Quao
Executive Director
Emerging Public Leaders
MA, Kofi Annan International Training Centre
BSc., Ashesi University - Abdul-Latif Issahaku '05
Data and Devices Manager
MTN Ghana
BSc, Ashesi University - Mabel Wilson
Integral Coach
Mpuntu
MBA, Baylor University
Patrick Awuah
Founder & President
Before founding Ashesi University, Patrick worked as a Program Manager for Microsoft where, among other things, he spearheaded the development of dial-up internet working technologies and gained a reputation for bringing difficult projects to completion.
He holds bachelor degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College; an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business; and honorary Doctorates from Swarthmore College, Babson College and the University of Waterloo.
He has won many prestigious international awards including the Membership of the Order of the Volta -- one of Ghana’s highest awards, given to individuals who exemplify the ideal of service to the country, and the World Innovation Summit for Education Prize. Click here to read a full bio.
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Araba Botchway
Director of Admissions and Financial Aid
Prior to her role at Ashesi, Araba worked as the Program Officer for the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) in West Africa for a period of 12 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in French with Spanish from the University of Ghana, a post graduate diploma in Marketing of Services from the Maastricht School of Management (Netherlands), an Executive MBA from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, a certificate in Management of Higher Education Institutions from the Galilee College (Israel), and a certificate in Project Management from Syncom Business Intelligence (South Africa).
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Abdul Mahdi
Dean of Students & Community Affairs
Prior to Ashesi, Abdul was the Director of Full-time and Professional MBA Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Champaign. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an MBA from Governor State University in Illinois. Abdul has 15+ years’ experience in designing, forecasting, marketing and implementing programs to yield results in corporate and non-for profit sectors and 13 years of experience in higher education working with a diverse population of faculty, staff and students.
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Yasmin Bucknor
Chief Operating Officer
Yasmin holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Cornell University, and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She began her career in the financial services industry in New York as an investment banker at Société Generale where she focused on asset-based finance. After her MBA, she worked as a director in corporate finance at American Express.
Yasmin is passionate about non-profit management and making an impact in the lives of African youth. Prior to joining Ashesi, she was the Chief Operations Officer at IkamvaYouth, a South African non-profit focused on empowering disadvantaged youth through education, where she helped scale the organization's student reach threefold. Yasmin grew up in the Ivory Coast and is fluent in French.
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Angela Owusu-Ansah
Provost
Angela comes to Ashesi with over 30 years of experience in academic development and research, and oversees faculty and excellence in instruction and research.
Prior to joining Ashesi, Angela was a Professor of Doctoral Studies, and a Faculty Chair of dissertation research, at Concordia University, Portland, Oregon. She also served as a national commissioner for the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), a major accrediting agency of over 700 higher education institutions. She also served as the Associate Dean of the School of Education, the Director of the Master of Education Programs, Coordinator of Unit Assessment and Accreditation, Licensure Officer, and Chair of Teacher Education Programs, at Elon University.
She was educated in Ghana (BA in psychology with sociology), Spain (MS in International Educational Administration, and certificate in TESOL), the United States (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, Quantitative Research Methods and Social Science Statistics, and Instructional Technology), with a residency at Oxford University.
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Ebenezer Buckman
Chief of Staff to the President & Director of University Communications
Eben has served in various capacities at Ashesi University since 2011, and currently leads the communication, alumni engagement and fundraising teams at the University in his role as the Director of University Communications. He also serves as Chief of Staff to the President, helping implement strategic initiatives from the Office of the President; and Secretary to the Board, serving as a key liaison between Board members and the University. He holds a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems from Ashesi, and was a Middle East and Africa Talent scholarship recipient at IE Business School, where he earned his master's degree in Corporate Communications.
Global Advisory Council
 | Bright Simons President, mPedigree MPA and George Mallinckrodt Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School |
 | Anne McNulty Co-Founder and President, John P. & Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation MBA, Wharton School |
 | Constantin Salameh Board Advisor and Investor, Berytech MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business |
 | Hoop Somuah Software Engineering Manager, Microsoft Stanford University |
 | Paul Maritz Technology Executive and Investor BCompSc(Hons), University of Cape Town |
 | Dr. Myma Belo Osagie Partner Emeritus (of Counsel), Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie LL. B, University of Ghana LL. M; SJD, Harvard Law School |
 | Chris Lee Senior Partner, FAA Investments BS, Mechanical Engineering MBA, University of California, Berkeley |
 | Professor Phillip L. Clay Professor, MIT AB (Hons), University of North Carolina Ph.D., MIT |
 | Stavros Yiannouka CEO, WISE MBA, London Business School LLB, University of Bristol |
Investment Workgroup
| Conrad Gehrmann |
| Neil Collins |
 | Rich Lyons |
| Chris Lee |
| Anne McNulty |
 | Sangu Delle |
Emeritus Trustees
Bill Bliss
Partner Architect/Strategist
Microsoft Corporation
Annie Chan
Financial Analyst
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Kristi Helgesen
Life Coach and Education Consultant
Peter Koelle
Retired (Formerly at JP Morgan and UniCredit Group)
Sylvie Gomis-Tanoh
Founding Member
La Fondation d'Augustin
Samuel Jonah
Chancellor
University of Cape Coast
Gurdeep Pall
Corporate Vice-President
Information Platform & Experience Team
Microsoft Corporation
Peter Woicke
Former Executive Vice-President
World Bank